Samsung stretches lead over Apple and Nokia

Korean powerhouse now accounts for over fifth of handset sales

New figures released today [14th August 2012] by analysts Gartner show Samsung pulling further ahead of rivals such as Apple and Nokia. In Q2 2012 Samsung sold 90.43 million mobile handsets, giving the South Korean manufacturer a 21.6 per cent market share, compared to 20.7 per cent in Q1 2012 and up from 16.3 per cent the same quarter a year ago. Much of the boost was from sales of its Android-running Galaxy handsets, says Gartner, which adds that smartphones now account for more than half of its mobile device sales. By comparison, figures show Nokia’s Windows-running [W7 Mango] Lumia devices continuing to struggle, though Apple increased its market share to 6.9 per cent in the second quarter from 4.6 per cent the same quarter a year ago.

Apple’s only weakness was in sales of iPhone 4, largely attributed to fans awaiting the launch of version 5 that’s expected before Christmas.

Total mobile device sales declined 2.3 percent year-on-year in the quarter to 419 million units, a decline mainly attributed to the recession.

Otherwise some 154 million smartphones were sold in Q2 2012, up two fifths from 2011. Android smartphones accounted for more than two thirds of all smartphone sales.

Gartner, whose figures are based on sales of handsets to customers rather than the numbers shipped, adds that while Microsoft witnessed an almost doubling of its share of the market, Windows handsets still account for only 2.7 per cent of overall smartphone sales.